Sinnoh Gym Battles
Canalave Snowpoint First Battle Rematch Yazmyne and Candice begin their rematch this time at the Snowpoint Cit gym. Candice opens her match with Abomasnow, who immediately activates her Snow Warning ability. Hail envelops the battlefield, and Espeon wishes to avenge her loss to the Frost Tree Pokemon, but she cannot. Yazmyne decides to open her second Snowpoint campaign with Drapion for the type advantage. Yazmyne is granted the opening move and she looks to one of the icebergs on the field. Drapion uses Crunch at the base of the ice to dislodge it then use her tail to fling it to Abomasnow. The Ice-Type quickly destroys the ice rock with Ice Punch. Drapion extends his second claw and then grips Abomasnow hard with another Crunch. Candice is impressed by Yazmyne's combination attacks with Crunch, but she points to Abomasnow to recovers with a mighty roar. Abomasnow releases a mighty Blizzard enhanced by the effects of Hail. Drapion is struck, and he slides back unable to maintain his ground on the slippery ice. Drapion gets up and powers up with Hone Claws; meanwhile, the Hail begins to hurt him. Candice has Abomasnow release another Blizzard storm. Yazmyne orders Drapion to counter with Pin Missile, weakening the Blizzard. Drapion follows up with Cross Poison, which explodes on Abomasnow, but she survives the attack. Abomasnow retaliates against Drapion with Avalanche. Abomasnow's body glows light blue, and a dark cloud appears above the Poison-Type. Chunks of ice then rain down from the cloud and strike Drapion hard. Cody scans Avalanche into his Poke, which explains the mechanics of the attack, dealing double the damage to Drapion. Hit hard, Draion falters and Abomsmow jumps to smash Espeon with Wood Hammer. Drapion extends his claws his grabs Abomasnow arms to stop her attack. Drapion throws Abomasnow into their air and strikes her with Cross Poison. Abomasnow crashes on the ground and gets back up to counter Drapion's following Pin Missile with Blizzard. The two attacks collide pushing the other back, but Espeon's much stronger natural attack power trumps Abomasnow and her Blizzard. Abomasnow is struck by Drapion's explosive atttack and is rendered unable to battle. Candice recalls Abomasnow and sends Sneasel into battle. Drapion suffers more damage from Hail. Considering Sneasel's speed on the ice, Yazmyne immediately recalls Drapion and sends Buizel into battle, needing a Pokemon that can match Sneasel's speed. Buizel starts the battle fast with Aqua Jet. Sneasel glides fast across the ice to dodge and Buizel safely lands. Sneasel turns back to fire Ice Shard, but Buizel also knows how to move on the ice and dodge the attacks. Candice's plan was to move Buizel even a little bit close to allow Sneasel to attack fast and swipe Buizel with Retaliate. Ethan scans Retaliate into his Pokedex which deals double the damage after an ally was defeated. Buizel surprises Candice when he endures the heavy attack. Buizel suffers from Hail, but the weather finally clears. He fires off a Whirlpool and Sneasel tries to hold it back with Metal Claw. Buizel tears through his own Whirlpool and strikes Sneasel hard, sending it crashing into an ice rock. Sneasel recovers and aims to frost Buizel's legs with Icy Wind. Buizel counters with Sonic Boom to absorb the weak Icy Wind and then hit Sneasel with the power of two attacks. Candice has Sneasel go for a frontal assault with Metal Claw, landing a clean hit, but Buizel retaliates with a super-effective Power-Up Punch. Buizel is coated with a orange aura, gaining power, and he strikes with another Aqua Jet, sending Sneasel crashing into a wall, unable to battle. Candice chooses a Clefable as her third choice and Yazmyne keeps Buizel in the match. Ethan comments on the choice and Jillian guesses that Candice caught Clefable as a Cleffa or Clefairy from Mount Coronet. Buizel attacks with Sonic Boom. Medicham uses Minimize, which allows her to shrink and glide dodge Buizel's attack. Clefable stays tiny and she releases a powerful Moonblast that blasts Buizel. Clefable returns to normal size as Buizel recovers. Buizel shifts into a powerful Aqua Jet, but Clefable continues to surprise by unleashing a Fire Blast that dissipates the water of Aqua Jet into steam. Buizel lands and fires more Sonic Boom attacks. Clefable uses her thick body to absorb the impact and knock out Buizel with Moonblast. Cody is surprised Candice would use a Pokemon that knows a Fire-Type move. Jillian disagrees, saying that Ice-Type Pokemon are weak to Fire, Steel, and Fighting. Clefable resists Fighting-Type attacks and Fire Blast defeats Steel-Types. Ethan remembers learning from Fantina that gym leaders do more than test a trainer against a specific elemental type; they challenge opponents with various strategies and surprises. Yazmyne recalls Buizel, and considering her options, she returns Drapion to battle. Drapion begins by building power with Hone Claws. Candice has Clefable use Moonblast. Clefable releases a powerful pink ball of light, and Luxray counters with Cross Poison, destroying the orb in a pink and purple glitter, distracting Candice and Clefable. Drapion uses the chance to follow up his attack by striking Clefable with another Cross Poison for super-effective damage. Clefable begins to retaliate with Ice Beam, which Drapion dodges, but Clefable's Ice Beam solidifies around Drapion's feet to trap him. Clefable then blasts the trapped Drapion with Moonblast. Drapion crashes back but gets back up to release an explosive blast of Pin Missile. Clefable endures the attack with her thick body and releases a Fire Blast. Drapion and follows up with Hone Claws. Drapion uses another Cross Poison, but Clefable escapes by shrinking with Minimize. While Drapion searches for Clefable, the tiny Pokemon strikes him directly with Ice Beam. Yazmyne, however, deduces that with Clefable's small size, she's not moving very fair. She orders Drapion to use Pin Missile. Drapion releases missiles from his pincers that cause a series of explosions around the battlefield. The tiny Clefable cannot escape. She is hit and forced back into her normal size. Before Clefable can recover, Drapion fires one last Cross Poison, which knocks out Clefable by smashing her into the wall. Candice's final Pokemon is her Froslass, and Yazmyne recalls losing to his Pokemon's Snow Cloak ability, strengthened by Double Team. Drapion and Froslass open with a collision between Pin Missile and Ominous Wind. Ominous Wind steadily overpowers Drapion's Pin Missile and consumes the Poison-Type Pokemon in a super-effective ghostly storm. Drapion survives the attack and fires a Cross Poison. However, the attack is wild and weak because he is too tired from his battles against Abomasnow and Clefable. Froslass uses Will-o-Wisp to burn Drapion, which is enough to render him unable to battle. Yazmyne sends Riolu to battle next. Ethan doesn't think it is a smart move to pit a Fighting-Type against a Ghost-Type unless it knows Foresight like his Machoke. Sunnyshore Yazmyne’s 4-on-4 four gym battle against Volkner begins, and Yazmyne calls on Drapion to battle first, and Volkner has chosen a Jolteon. Drapion starts the battle with Pin Missile, which Jolteon dodges leading to explosions across the battlefield. This was Yazmyne’s plan as smoke covers the field, and Drapion is given the space to use Hone Claws. Jolteon fires off multiple Shadow Balls through the smoke and lands a direct hit on Drapion. Jolteon follows with Thunder Fang, and Drapion catches Jolteon with his claws and uses Crunch, inflicting great damage. Jolteon recovers and uses Thunder Wave, and Drapion is paralyzed. Yazmyne commands Cross Poison, but he is afflicted by paralysis, allowing Jolteon to land another Thunder Fang. Yazmyne recalls Drapion and sends Espeon to battle. Volkner does not waste any time, and commands Jolteon to use Thunder Wave. However, Espeon is unaffected due to its Magic Bounce ability. Espeon then controls Jolteon with Psychic and spins him in the air before smashing him on the ground several times before releasing her hold. Jolteon gets up and fires fires off multiple Shadow Balls. Espeon bats the Shadow Balls back onto Jolteon with Iron Tail. Jolteon uses its impressive speed to evade the Shadow Balls while charging in with Thunder Fang. Espeon releases another telekinetic blast of Psychic that sends Jolteon crashing into the wall unable to battle. Yazmyne promptly recalls Espeon on a job well done and calls on Altaria. Volkner chooses Ambipom, a Normal-Type Pokemon. At the onset of the battle, Altaria strikes first landing landed a Sky Attack. Altaria swoops back up in the air, and Ambipom fires a Shock Wave, which Altaria negates with Dragon Breath. Altaria fires another Dragon Breath, but Ambipom dodges with Agility. Altaria uses Sky Attack, and Ambipom counters with a second Agility. Ambipom glows purple to build speed, allowing him to dodge Altaria's repeated attacks. When Altaria stops, Ambipom then uses Nasty Plot, glowing black after sneering a laugh. Yazmyne scans Nasty Plot into her Pokedex, which tells her that Ambipom's Special Attack power is increasing. She considers Draco Meteor, but she knows Ambipom's increased speed will allow him to dodge the attack. As Yazmyne hesitates, Volker commands a second Nasty Plot, and Ambipom builds more power. Yazmyne has Altaria sing a screeching Perish Song, which disturbs herself, Volkner, and most importantly Ambipom. Volkner has Ambipom use an Shock Wave, which hits Altaria and stops him before he can complete the song. Volkner then orders Ambipom to use Baton Pass, returning itself to Volkner's Great Ball. Volkner then chooses Luxray as his third Pokemon for battle. Altaria attacks first with Dragon Breath, but Luxray demonstrates stunning speed and dodges the attack easily. Yazmyne is surprised as she knows her own Luxray doesn't have that type of speed. Yazmyne scans Luxray, which shows that he has all the boosts from Ambipom's Nasty Plot and Agility, reminding Yazmyne of the effects of Baton Pass. Volkner commands Luxray to use Electric Terrain, a move Yazmyne has never experienced. Yazmyne knows her mother's Sylveon can use Misty Terrain, but she doesn't know the difference yet. Yazmyne doesn't want to find out, so she has Altaria fire a Draco Meteor, and draconian rocks descend from the ceiling. With its increased power and the bonus of Electric Terrain, Luxray easily destroys the Draco Meteor with Charge Beam in a series of fireworks and explosions. Luxray's Charge Beam continues to strike Altaria and knock him out immediately. Yazmyne recalls Altaria and she needs her Pokedex again to understand the mechanics of Electric Terrain, which prevents Pokemon from falling asleep and increases the power of Electric-Type attacks. Yazmyne is extremely impressed with Volker's strategy and teamwork with his Pokemon. Considering her options, Yazmyne returns Espeon to battle as the only one who can handle Luxray's power. Espeon opens the battle with Hidden Power, but Luxray charges through it with a powerful Spark and strikes Espeon hard. Espeon is thrusted back but remains on her feet. She releases a telekinetic blast of Psychic. Luxray counters with Charge Beam that results in a powerful explosion. Luxray follows with Spark, and Espeon erects a defensive shield of Hidden Power. Luxray collides with the shield and after a struggle, he ultimately breaks through it due to Electric Terrain's boost of electrical attacks. Espeon takes reduced damage, and she uses the proximity land an enhanced Zap Cannon, blasting Luxray back. Luxray uses Crunch this time, and Yazmyne repeats her strategy of a Hidden Power shield. However, Yazmyne quickly realizes her miscalculation as Espeon's Hidden Power is a Ghost-Type, which is immediately broken by Luxray's Dark-Type attack. Espeon is caught in Luxray's jaws, bitten by his Crunch, but she manages to blast Luxray back with Psychic. Espeon is shows signs of exhaustion and pain from Luxray's heavy attacks. Still, Espeon releases streaks of Hidden Power, and Luxray uses his stunning speed to dodge incoming attacks. Luxray then releases a massive Charge Beam that explodes on Espeon and renders her unable to battle. Yazmyne recalls Espeon on a job well done and sends her paralyzed Drapion back into battle. Just then, Electric Terrain fades from the field, and Volkner has Luxray immediately re-establish it when the battle resumes. Paralyzed, Drapion is unable to prepare the Cross Poison Yazmyne commands. Volkner orders Luxray to charge with Spark. However, Luxray is unresponsive. Luxray is coated in a black aura and suddenly falls over unable to battle. Volkner himself is confused until he starts laughing. Volkner admits he forgot that Ambipom was still affected by Altaria's Perish Song event if Altaria did not complete the dark melody. With Baton Pass, Luxray inherited the lingering effects of Perish Song. Volkner recalls Luxray, apologizing for his carelessness, and returns Ambipom to battle. Ambipom's only attacking move is Shock Wave, which he uses but Drapion manages to counter with Cross Poison. Ambipom begins using Agility and Nasty Plot to build speed and power. Drapion begins firing Cross Poison attacks, but Ambipom dodges them with great acrobatics and lands an enhanced Shock Wave. Drapion uses Pin Missile causing explosions across the battlefield. Smoke covers the grounds, and Drapion manages to locate Ambipom. He fires a Cross Poison that lands on Ambipom, and subsequently extends his pincers to catch the recovering Normal-Type. Ambipom tries to break free to no avail, and Drapion begins inflicting damage a powerful Crunch. With Ambipom still in Drapion's clutches, Yazmyne orders Drapion to continue his assault with Pin Missile. Volkner commands Shock Wave using the direct proximity as well. Ambipom electrifies Drapion, and the Drapion explodes a direct Pin Missile on Ambipom, resulting in two explosions on opposite ends the field. When the smoke clears, Ambipom and Drapion are shown unable to battle resulting in a double KO. Drapion and Luxray are recalled, and Yazmyne and Volkner are down to their last Pokemon. Volkner's final Pokemon is an Electivire. Yazmyne considers her three other options for the battle: Luxray, Lopunny, and Lucario, but she said she already made up her mind. Yazmyne calls on Lucario. Yazmyne comments that Luxray would not be effective against Electivire's Motor Drive, and Mega Lopunny is too wild. Electivire attacks first with Thunder Punch, which visibly empowered by Electric Terrain. Electrvire charges at Lucario, who uses Bone Rush to block Electivire's heavy attacks. Being a Ground-Type move, Bone Rush won't shatter against the Electric-Type Thunder Punch. Volkner slyly commands Quick Attack, and Electrivire rushes himself behind Lucario and lands a heavy Thunder Punch. Just then, Yazmyne realizes Volkner's strategy. Yazmyne says that Volkner's use of moves such as Electric Terrain and Nasty Plot to ultimately build electrical power is a front for his true strategy. She insists that Jolteon's Thunder Wave was the biggest hint. Amused, Volkner asks what Yazmyne thinks his true strategy is, and she replies that Volkner emphasizes speed in battle, shown through the naturally speedy Jolteon, Thunder Wave to slow down the opponent, Ambipom's Agility and Baton Pass to pass on that speed, and Electivire's Quick Attack and natural Motor Drive ability. Volkner applauds Yazmyne's deduction of his strategy, which he confirms is correct. While the opponent is so focused on taking his enhanced electrical attacks, his Electric-Types are able to dodge and fire as many lightning fast attacks as possible. Volkner aims to prove his point, and he orders Electivire to fire a Thunder into the air. Electrvire does and Lucario blocks it by twirling another bone of Bone Rush. Just then Electivire speeds up and punches Lucario in the gut with another enhanced Thunder Punch. Lucario is knocked down, but manages to get back up. Electivire begins to use Quick Attack rushing around Lucario. Yazmyne orders Lucario to use Copycat, and he begins to use Quick Attack himself. Lucario possesses greater natural speed than Electivire allowing him to cut off the Electric-Type, and ram him hard, impressing Volkner. Lucario then fires Dragon Pulse, but Electivire holds his ground to tear through it with Thunder Punch. Electric Terrain finally fades, making the match much more even. Volkner commands Flamethrower, which Electivire executes however, Lucario dodges just in time. Lucario uses Copycat and releases his own Flamethrower. Electivire uses a another Flamethrower to cancel the attack. Electivire and Lucario bypass the other with more mutual Flamethrower attacks due to Lucario's continuous Copycat. Yazmyne feels that she's missing something beyond her Pokemon's Steel weakness to Fire-Type attacks. Yazmyne has Lucario dodge another Flamethrower and transition into Dragon Pulse. Electivire tanks the attack and Volkner comments on the hot battlefield, perfect for an electrical attack. Electivire uses Thunder, enhanced by the heat of the battlefield, and Lucario is struck hard. Lucario manages to get back onto his feet, but he won't last another heavy attack like that. Yazmyne privately admits she can't beat Volkner on raw power or speed, so she'll have to out-think him. She she can't orders Copycat, and Lucario uses Thunder but on the ground. Doing so causes rocks to fly up on the field and attack Electivire. The Thunderbolt Pokemon uses Quick Attack to dodge the incoming rocks, and Lucario uses his aura to track Electivire, allowing him to strike twice with Ice Punch. Electivire uses another Thunder, but Yazmyne orders Lucario to dig a Bone Rush bone on the ground, which he does. The bone acts as a lightning rod which absorbs the attack and channels the electricity harmlessly into the ground. Yazmyne then orders another Bone Rush. This time, Lucario generates two large bones from his two palms and fires them onto Electivire. The Thunderbolt Pokemon uses Flamethrower to destroy the imcoming bones, but then Lucario lands an Ice Punch. Volkner is amused to see Yazmyne use his strategy against him. Electivire uses Quick Attack, and Lucario uses his aura to read Electivire's movements. Lucario is still struck by two heavy Quick Attacks. Lucario holds his ground and uses Dragon Pulse. Electivire retaliates with Thunder. To Volkner's surprise, Thunder actually blends with Lucario's Dragon Pulse, creating a purple dragon-shaped energy blast surrounded by electricity. The energy dragon bites down on Electivire in an explosion. Lucario prepares to continue by generating another bone of Bone Rush, but Electivire is shown knockout and unable to battle, making Yazmyne the winner. Volkner recalls Electivire and admits that their match was highly unusual with the way Luxray fainted and the electric Dragon Pulse. However, he commends Yazmyne for reading his strategy, countering, and coming up with the win. Yazmyne subsequently praises Volkner for the ingenious and complete way he uses Electric-Type Pokemon, with multiple electrical tactics embedded into a larger theme, something she's worked on for her entire life as a trainer. Volkner then awards Yazmyne the Beacon Badge, allowing her to compete in the Sinnoh League.